Pressure-regulator for commutator-brushes.



No. 647,0l6. Patented A'pr. i0, I900.

.1. 0. mmssou. I

PRESSURE REGULATOR FUR COMMUTATOR BRUSHES.

(Application filed Jan. 25, 1900.\ (No Model.) 2 S.heets$heel l,

WITNESSES l/VVE/VTOR %/WW /2WL ATTORNEYS "m: NORRIS PETERI- cu,Wm'myruu. WASHINGTON n. c.

No. 647,0l6. Patented Apr. l0. I900.

Y .1. 0. MOISSON.

PRESSURE REGULATOR FDR GOMMUTATOR BRUSHES.

(Application filed Jan. 25. 1900.) (No Modei.) 2 Sheets-Shut 2.

INVENTOI? THE mmms wzrzns c0. FHDTO-LITHEL, WASHINGTON. a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOEL OSCAR MOISSON, OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

PRESSURE-REGULATOR FOR COMMUTATOR-BRUSHESf SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 647,016, dated April 10, 1900. Application filedJanuary 25,1900. Serial No. 2,755. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOEL OSCAR MoIssoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pressure-Regulators for Commutator-Brushes,of which the following is a full andcomplete specification, such as Will enable those skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to pressure'regulators for commutator-brushes;and the object thereof is to provide a device of this class whereby aneven pressure of all the brushes upon the bars of the commutator may bemaintained and an uneven friction thereof and consequent roughening andwearing away of the operative surfaces of the commutatorbars prevented.By means of my improved brush-regulator sparking of thecommutator-brushes is also to agreat extent obviated.

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described. I

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich like reference characters denote corresponding parts in theseveral views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a brush-holder and brush,showing my improved pressure-regulator operatively mounted in connectiontherewith. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of thepressure-regulator shown in Fig. 1, part thereof being shown in fulllines. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of Fig. 2, partly cut away. Fig. 4 isa section of Fig. 2 on the line 4 4 thereof, and Fig. 5 is a plan viewof Fig. 2 from a plane denoted by the line 5 5 therein and looking inthe direction of the arrow connected with said line.

Commutator-brushes as at present mounted in operative position in thebrush-holders are caused to bear tensionally upon the commutator-bars bymeans of spring elements which are connected With the brush-holders andwhich bear upon said commutator-bars, and the potential of these springelements is determined by means of set-screws which bear upon thebrush-holders and are turned down upon said spring elements. It isimpossible to regulate the potential of all the spring elements so as toobtain an evenness of pressure of all of the spring elements upon theirrespective brushes, and the consequent unevenness of pressure causes anuneven wearing away of the operative ends of the brushes and of thecommutator-bars upon which the brushes frictionally bear. To obviate theabove disadvantages and to insure an equal pressure of all of thecommutator-brushes upon the commutator, I have devised apressure-regulat0r,which is shown in Fig. 1 mounted in operativeposition in connection with a brush-holder and brush. 7

In Fig. 1 the brush-holder is denoted by the general reference character7 and is mounted upon a shaft or spindle 8, Which is supported adjacentthe commutator in any desired manner. The brush-holder 7 is provided atits outer end with a box or sleeve 9, in which the brush proper, 10, isslidably mounted in position to bear upon the commutator, and thebrush-holder is provided adjacent itsv outer end with a stud 11, uponwhich is passed the inner end of a looped spring 12, the extreme end ofwhich is engaged with the upper end of the brush 10, being bifurcated tostraddle a binding-post 13, which is fixed to said brush.

A conductor 14 is connected at one end with the binding-post 13 and atthe other end bears a tip or pig-tail 15, which is connected with thestud '11 by means of a lock-nut 16, and the current collected by thecommutatorbars and passed through the brush 10 is led through theconductor 14: to the tip 15 and thus, in the ordinary manner,into thecircuitwires. A set-screw 17 is passed through the upper portion of thespring 12 and bears at its lower end upon the upper end of the stud 11.The set-screw 17 is provided With a thumbpiece 18 and with a lock-nut19. By means of the set-screw 17 and the lock-nut 19 the outer endportion 12 of the spring 12 maybe depressed or raised to anypredetermined extent to vary the tension of said spring upon the upperend of the brush 10 and correspondingly vary the pressure of said brushupon the commutator.

To regulate the pressure of the spring 12 upon the brush 10 Without atension-indicating device is extremely difficult, and for the purpose Iprovide a device, which is shown mounted upon the upper portion of thespring 12 by means of a tubular support 20, into the lower end of whichis fitted an insulating-tip 21, which bears directly upon the spring 12.The insulating-tip is made necessary by the fact that the spring 12 iswithin the circuit of the current proceeding from the brush and throughthe brush-holder.

A bracket or standard 22 is slidably mounted in the tubular support20,and its fixed position therein is adjustable by means of theset-screw 23. Fixed to the upper end of the standard 22 is a hollow body2st, the upper por tion of which consists of a face-plate 25, whichprojects from the forward end thereof at and connected with the rearwardend of the body 24 and with said forward end 25 of the face-plate 25 isa yoke-shaped support 211$,provided with a handle 27, which is arrangedin parallelism with the body 24.

Arranged upon the upper surface of the face-plate 25 is a supplementalplate 28,whieh, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, is provided with alongitudinal oblong opening 29, and the supplemental plate 28 projects apredetermined distance beyond the forward end portion 25 of theface-plate 25 at 28". The supplemental plate 28 is provided at the sidewith curved guides 30, which pass beneath the lateral edges of theface-plate 25 and the flanged sides 24 of the body 24:, which flangedsides support the edge portions of the face-plate 25, as clearly shownin Fig. 1, and by means of the curved guides 30 the supplemental plateis prevented from lateral displacement upon the face-plate 25,and thelongitudinal movement of said supplemental plate upon said face plate isthereby allowed. The rearmost guides 30 upon eitherside of thesupplemental plate 28 are connected by a cross-strip 31, through whichand through the supplemental plate 28 passes a set-screw 32, by means ofwhich the supplemental plate 28 may be fixed to the face-plate 25 inlongitudinally-adjusted position.

In Fig. 2 is shown a coiled spring one end of which is fixed to therearmost end and within the body portion 24, and the forward end ofwhich is connected with a pointer-bar 3e, which is slidably mountedwithin said body portion and provided with an upwardly laterallydirected pointer 35, which operates through a slot 36, formedlongitudinally of the face-plate 25 and in connection with a scale 37,disposed upon the face of the face plate 25, adjacent one edge of theslot 36. The forward end of the pointer-bar 3st is provided with anupwardly-directed end portion 38, which operates within a slot 39,formed in the forwardly-projected portion 25 of the face plate 25.Connected therewith is a cord or other flexible device 40, which passesoperatively about a pulley 41, revolubly connected with theforwardly-extended portion 28 of the supplemental plate 28 and arrangedin alinement with a slot 42, cut in the end of said extension 28.

Connected with the extreme forward end portion of the extension 28-is asegmental.

guide-wire 43, the ends of which are connected with said extension 28 ateither side of the slot 42. The cord passes about the pulley ll andbetween the same and the guide 1-3 and is provided at its lower end witha ring 44:, with which are connected two cords 1-1 and 15, with each ofwhich is connected one member 4-6 of a gripping device, (denoted by thegeneral reference character 4-7,) and the gripping device 4-7 isconstructed upon the principle of the ordinary lazy-tongs, the arrangement of parts being such that strain imposed upon the cords 45 willcause the pointed ends 4E8 ot' the members 16 to mutually approach andto grip an article placed therebetween.

The brusl1-pressure regulator is mounted upon the spring element 1.2 inthe position shown in Fig. 1, the insulating-tip 21 engaging directlywith said spring, and the pointed portions 48 of the members 16 of thegripping device 47 are engaged with either side of the brush 10, whichis slidably mounted in the box 9 of the brush-holder.

Let it be presumed that the graduation 37 of the scale 37 (shown in Fig.5) corresponds to a value indicating the desired tension of the spring12 upon the brush 10 and the consequent pressure of the said brush uponthe commutator-bars. \Vith the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 thehandle 27 is grasped by the operator and the forward end portion 28 ofthe supplemental plate 28 is elevated, the entire regulator device beingpivoted upon the insulated tip 21 until the grip per device at? hasraised the brush 10 from the connnutator-bars. When the brush has beenthus raised from the eommutator-bars, the set-screw 17 is adjusted tocause the end portion 12 of the spring 12 to bear upon the brush 10 tosuch an extent that when the brush 10 has been brought into engagementwith the commutator-bars the pointer 35 will be in registration with thegraduation 37, and it is therefore determined that a tensional pressureof, say, two and one-hall pounds is exerted upon the brush 10. If thisoperation be repeated in connection with all of the brushes of thebrush-holder or brush holders, an even pressure of all the brushes "uponthe commutator-bars is obtained,-and

an even frictional wearing of the brushes and commutator-barsconsequently ensues.

I do not limit myself to the specific con struction and arrangement ofparts herein specified, but reserve the right to vary the same withinthe scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The herein-described means for regulating thepressure of cominutator-brushes provided with tensional means forholding the same in engagement with the commutator, comprising atension-scale having a pointer element, and means connected with said.pointer element which are engaged. with the commutator-brush, saidtensional element of the commutator-brush being provided with means forregulating the tension thereof, substantially as shown and described.

The herein-described means for regulating the pressure of commutatorbrushes, which commutator-brushes are mounted in brush holders carryingtensional elements which operatein connection with said brushes, andwhich tensional elements are provided with means for regulating thepotential thereof; comprising a scale device provided with a tensionalpointer element, and devices connected with said pointer element whichare engaged with the commutator brush, said scale device being providedwith an insulated support which operates in connection with thebrush-holder, substantially as shown and described.

8. The herein-described pressure-regulator for a commutator-brush, whichcom mntatorbrush is slidably mounted in a brush-holder and whichbrush-holder is provided with a tensional element which operates'inconnection with said brush and is provided with means for regulating thepotential thereof; comprising a body portion provided with a supportwhich operates in connectionwith the brush-holder, said body portionbeing provided with a scale and with a tensional pointer device whichoperates in connection with said scale, said pointer device beingprovided with devices which are engaged directly with said brush,substantially as shown and described.

at. The herein-described pressure-regulator for commutator-brushes,comprising a body portion provided with an insulated support and with ahandle, said body portion being further provided with a scale and with atensional pointer device which operates in con nection with said scale,and gripper devices which are flexibly connected with said pointerdevice and which are directly engaged with said brush, substantially asshown and described.

5. A pressure-regulator for commutatorbrushes, comprising a body portionprovided with an adjustable insulating-support and with a scale, aspring-retractedpointer device provided with a pointer which operates inconnection with said scale, a supplemental member which is adjustablyconnected with said body portion and provided at one end with a pulley,and a cord or other flexible device connected with said pointer deviceand passed operatively about said pulley, said cord being provided atits outer end with a gripper device which is directly engaged with saidbrush, substantially as shown and described.

6. A pressure-regulator for commutatorbrushes, comprising a body portionprovided at one end with an adjustable support carrying at its lower endan insulating-tip, said body portion being provided with a slottedfaceplate having a scale, a pointer-bar mounted within said body portionand arranged to slide therein, and tensionally connected with the rearend of said bodyportion by means of a spring, said pointer-bar beingprovided with a pointer which operates in connection with said scale,and a supplemental plate slidabl'y and ad j ustably connected with saidface-plate and superposed thereon, said supplemental plate beingprovided at its outer end with a slotted portion in alinement with whichis arranged a pulley, a flexible device which is connected with saidpointer-bar and passed about said pulley and provided at its outer endwith two pivoted gripper members, the free ends of which are directlyconnected with the brush, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 16th day ofJanuary, 1900.

JOEL OSCAR MOISSON.

Witnesses:

G. H. HOPKINS, J r., WALTON S. ADAIR.

